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Fantastic news to hear that Aquachip has re surfaced after being stolen 5 yrs ago, does beg the question where has it been hidden ? Robin you must be over the moon.

Apparently it is visible on Google earth!
Its been parked around the back of some garages not too far from Largs where it was stolen.

Thank you everyone who has helped and sent messages. The police have decided that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute anyone so I can now talk freely about the recovery of Albacore 6930 Aquachip, built by Woof in 1980, which was stolen from Largs after the Nationals in 2009.

We left Aquachip at Largs SC after sailing to go touring Scotland for a week. The sinking feeling on returning to find the empty parking place that should have contained the boat I had owned from new in 1980 is something I hope no one else ever experiences.

I advertised, emailed every sailing club in Scotland, told the RYA, Noble Marine put it on stolenboats.org, watched ebay and several Scottish members, particularly Crawford Reid and the late Derek Gibbons, scoured local bulletin boards and tapped their local networks but it had vanished without trace. Noble Marine were excellent and pressed me to accept the loss and allow them to pay the full insured amount after just a few weeks. They promised me first refusal to buy her back if she was later recovered.

I used the proceeds to buy 7986 Dancing Dude from Peter Fontes and after 5 years had come to believe that the thief had found Aquachip too hot to sell on and probably broken her up for parts. So imagine my surprise when Paul Sleeman of CS Boats phoned me one evening in March to say that he had that day collected an Albacore for repair from an address less than 20 miles from Largs and on the way to his home near Lairg (North of Inverness - a loong way from Largs) had remembered that an Albacore had been stolen from Largs some years before. A couple of phone calls later to Crawford Reid and other Scottish sailors and he was on the phone to me.

She had been sitting outside for 5 years still in her top and bottom covers and looking just as she did when last seen in Largs. The covers were canvas and had lain on the deck while often wet for so long that the deck was falling apart hence the repairs Paul had been asked to carry out. So the next morning I called the police in Largs to report the finding and pressed them to visit the premises where the boat had been to recover the spars, trolley and trailer and any other parts that Paul had seen when collecting the boat. The main concern of the police seemed to be to ask Inverness police to 'seize' the boat from Paul. 'Seizing' seems to be part of the legal process so we didn't argue. More of that later.

I also phoned Noble Marine who immediately contacted the police and set about assessing the present value of Aquachip given the repairs that were needed.

And then the complications began. When the police 'seize' large or bulky property they don't store it at the police station but contract a local storage company to hold it securely on their behalf. But they don't pay the storage company. They leave it to the storage company to recover the costs of storage from the property owner at whatever rates they wish to charge. So after a week or so when Inverness police announced they were releasing the boat the storage company revealed a bill for several hundred pounds and held the boat for ransom until it was paid. Noble Marine tell me this happens frequently and there is no recourse in law but they nobly stepped in and paid the still sizeable ransom even after convincing the storage company that the ransom they were asking initially was more than the value of the boat.

Meanwhile Largs police had yet to visit the location where the boat had been so we all hoped there wouldn't be a second round of 'seizing' - but there was. Yet again Noble Marine stepped in, sorted out the best deal that they could and paid the ransom. This is an unashamed promotion on my part for Noble Marine and the outstanding service that they provide. We all pay our premiums every year and think no more about insurance until the next reminder but it is when one has to claim that the best stand out from the rest and Noble Marine have proven themselves to me to be outstanding amongst the best.

Paul Sleeman, having discovered that Aquachip was a stolen boat, then went onto Google Earth to try and retrace the short drive he had taken from meeting the keeper of the boat to the lock-up garage where the boat was. And there it was on google earth parked in a back lane of lock-up garages and looking just as it had when last seen in Largs in July 2010! The picture was taken by google in October 2010.

Largs police have since recovered all the spars, sails, tool-boxes and even my lighting board and number plate with the full cooperation of the keeper. He told the police that he bought Aquachip several years ago from a man called Peter in a layby on the A6 after seeing it advertised in a watersports magazine. He had always wanted to sail but had only recently found the time to look at the boat he had bought and had called CS Boats to have it repaired.

Whats happening now? Well Noble Marine have given her back to me and Paul Sleeman of CS Boats is doing all the repairs and some improvements and will deliver her down South (600 miles from Lairgs to Maidenhead) later this summer sometime after the Nationals and in time for the winter season at Maidenhead.

I will, with regret, be selling 7986 Dancing Dude later this summer. She is a composite and was the first of the Speed Boats built by Holts and with an attractive wooden deck. With correctors she is exactly on weight and is fast with the capability to go even faster with a better helm. I will be sailing her at Poole so come and find me there if you are interested.

Robin Brooks - 7986 AND 6930

wow! what a saga! I guess the moral of the story is if you are going to leave your boat ready to trail, best disable the thing with wheel locks or something suitable.
My insurance is up for renewal so I will give Noble Marine a look.

Noble are in my experience an excellent no nonsense company to deal with. Nothing is too much trouble and they are always helpful give them a try I don't think you will be disappointed.

Albacore Andy

They are a bit more expensive than Towergate but I might just give them a go. Do we get a discount as NAA members?

Not that I am aware - I changed from a cheaper insurer mainly because the terms were better on new for old with sails and spars!